Graduate Programs

SMU's Department of Biological Sciences offers four graduate degree programs.

Advantages of graduate research at SMU:

• Our faculty are nationally recognized for their research.Faculty members serve on National Institutes of Health Study Section review panels and are funded by the NIH. In addition, our faculty serve as reviewers for several national and private granting agencies and have published their research in leading journals including: Nature, Science, Molecular Cell, Oncogene, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Vaccine, Genetics, PNAS, Molecular Biology of the Cell, Methods in Enzymology and Biochemistry.
• Modern Research Facilities. The Biological Sciences Department is located in the Dedman Life Sciences Building, adjacent to Fondren Science Library, and the closely affiliated departments of Chemistry and Computer Science. The department has state-of-the-art equipment, including two confocal microscopes, a flow cytometer, shared cell tissue culture facilities, and qRT-PCR instrumentation.
• Didactic lectures, scientific discourse and active research. The MCB program places great emphasis on training independent scientists. Students are taught to cover the breadth of modern molecular biology, yet maintain adequate time to follow up on areas of more specific interest in their own research. We are a supportive, collegial environment. Frequent interactions and open lines of communication are central to the success of a research department. From the first day onward, students meet with each faculty member the first week to ‘break the ice’ and foster long-term, scientific relationships. Lab rotations during the first semester introduce students to the research topics and techniques employed in various labs ensuring that students make well-informed decisions as to the lab in which they will pursue their thesis project. Supportive, collegial environment.Frequent interactions and open lines of communication are central to the success of a research department. From the first day onward, students meet with each faculty member the first week to ‘break the ice’ and foster long-term, scientific relationships.Lab rotations during the first semester introduce students to the research topics and techniques employed in various labs ensuring that students make well-informed decisions as to the lab in which they will pursue their thesis project.
• Financial Support. The Department of Biological Sciences offers numerous tuition scholarships, teaching assistantships, and faculty research assistantships.

M.A. Program  M.S. Program  Ph.D. Program